Week 5 Rehab After My Second Meniscectomy

by Rashida Bealin Meniscectomy Surgery, monthly updates, Uncategorizedon Posted on

Week 5 after my second meniscectomy was a major stepping stone for me.

But before reading about this week of recovery, I suggest you first review my previous updates:

In this article, I’ll review my fifth week of recovery after my second partial meniscectomy.

How I Felt During Week 5 of Meniscectomy Rehab

I felt a lot better than the previous weeks, largely because my knee took a major step forward (more on that below).

Overall, I was feeling more motivated and a bit closer to playing. This helped my mindset and prompted me to focus even more in recovery. It was definitely a pivtoal week mentally and physically.

How My Knee Felt

The change from week 4 to week 5 was one of the most significant in my recovery. My knee felt A LOT better than the previous week, especialy as this one progressed.

The swelling was mostly gone. I was having much less pain during flexion, and my quad tendon was getting stronger. It was not 100% by any means, but I felt a major difference.

Based on this progress, I was able to amplify some of my exercises and start to run faster.

Major Events

During this week, I made major progress with my exercises. I continued to work on active flexion, especially in end ranges. My swelling was basically gone.

Here are some of the major events from the week:

  • Major progress with flexion
  • Significant reduction in pain and irritation.
  • More jumping (including single leg and more difficult progressions).
  • Increasing running speed and distance.
  • Continuing to integrate in team warmups.
  • More ball work, including striking.

5 Week Post-Op Meniscectomy Exercises

I continued to increase the difficulty of exercises, while still integrating many of the basics. I increased the difficulty by adding more weight, including single-leg variations, and making some movements more explosive.

I continued with some exercises from my ACL 0 to 3 months post-op video, but I also added many more from the 4 to 6 month and 7 to 9 month videos.

Some examples of the exercises I did included:

  • Leg extension machine (eccentric, isometrics, single leg).
  • Plymotrics.
  • SL jumps
  • BB split squat
  • Ball work- passing, dribbling, striking
  • Side lunges
  • Running (intervals, up to 70% sprints)

Meniscectomy Rehab Frequently Asked Questions- 5 Week Post Op

Did you have full range of motion?

I had close to my pre-surgery range of motion, but still some inhibitive pain at the end range of flexion.

Could you run?

Yes, I could run and had been running for a few weeks by this point.

Could you sprint?

No, I could not sprint 100%. However, I was building up my speed and by the end of the week was running up to about 70-75%.

Could you play soccer?

No, I was still not able to play this week, as I had not yet sprinted, done cutting etc. I was certainly closer to playing.

Did you have pain?

Some. My pain was a lot less than it had been. I had some pain on the medial joint line when doing full flexion. I still had some quad tendon pain/weakness, but not as much as the previous week.